Severe weather alert issued for parts of Northern Illinois -- UPDATED

A severe thunderstorm warning for northwestern La Salle County as well as Ogle and Lee counties in north central Illinois has been lifted, but the area remains under a high wind warning.

The National Weather Service in Chicago had warned of morning thunderstorms in a three-county area that include Dixon, La Salle-Peru, Rochelle, Mendota, Byron, Oregon, Mount Morris, Amboy, Polo, Oglesby, Davis Junction, Earlville, Forreston, Utica, Hillcrest, Stillman Valley, Franklin Grove, Ashton and Paw Paw. The warning expired at 10:45 a.m. with no notable incidents.

However the National Weather Service extended its wind warning until 7 p.m. CDT Saturday. The service advised of southwest winds blowing 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 60 mph.

Ameren reported scattered outages Saturday with one in Ottawa. A portion of West Madison Street between Elm and Armstrong streets was blocked by Ottawa police cruisers while utility workers addressed a fallen power line that appeared to have been knocked down by a fallen tree limb. A resident reported at 12:30 p.m. that his lights flickered mid-morning and that he lost power around 10:30 a.m.

The first severe weather alert was issued at 9:25 a.m. CDT, when severe squalls producing little to no lightning were located along a line extending from near Andover to Prophetstown to 8 miles southwest of Walnut to near Buda, moving northeast at 45 mph.

Area residents are advised to shelter in place and stay tuned to additional alerts.